Spider-Man: The City that Never Sleeps
| designer = | programmer = Joe Valenzuela | artist = | writer = | composer = John Paesano | platforms = PlayStation 4 | released = | genre = Action-adventure | modes = Single-player }}Marvel's Spider-Man: The City that Never Sleeps is a collection of downloadable content (DLC) developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the 2018 video game Spider-Man. Based on the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man, it is inspired by the long-running comic book mythos, and adaptations in other media. Released in three distinct chapters, "The Heist", "Turf Wars", and "Silver Linings", The City that Never Sleeps main storyline takes place after the events of Spider-Man, and follows the titular character as he confronts a crime wave led by the physically-enhanced mob boss, Hammerhead. He is aided throughout the DLC by the thief Black Cat, Police Captain Yuri Watanabe, mercenary Silver Sable, and reporter Mary Jane Watson. The game is presented from the third-person perspective with a primary focus on Spider-Man's traversal and combat abilities. Spider-Man can freely move around New York City, interacting with characters and undertaking missions, and unlocking new gadgets and suits by progressing through the main story or completing tasks. The player is able to complete side missions away from the main story to unlock additional content and collectible items. Combat focuses on chaining attacks together against numerous foes while avoiding damage, using the environment and webs to incapacitate foes. The City that Never Sleeps was released worldwide for the PlayStation 4 video game consoles beginning with "The Heist" on October 23, 2018. This was followed by "Turf Wars" on November 20, and concluded with "Silver Linings" on December 21. Gameplay The City that Never Sleeps requires the core Spider-Man game to play. It is accessed from the main menu and takes place in a separate instance of New York City, excluding the main game's story, side missions, and random crimes. Crimes committed by the Maggia crime families take their place, including Maggia hideouts, brawls, and crime scenes. The Maggia have stolen technology from the Sable mercenary group to improve their fighting capabilities, and the DLC introduces a new Gatling Gun wielding enemy type. The social media-using villain Screwball returns from the main game to deliver various challenges, including EMP challenges, defeating enemies in certain areas to earn points, defeating enemies using specific gadgets, and taking stylish photos of Spider-Man's web-slinging or combat to achieve higher scores. Other side missions featured include looking for art Felicia's father left around the city, and using the Spider-Bot to look for bombs under cars. Each episode includes new story missions, challenges (hosted by Screwball), enemies, and trophies. Synopsis Characters Spider-Man: The City that Never Sleeps features a large ensemble cast of characters from the history of Spider-Man comics. Peter Parker (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal) is a 23-year old research assistant, who gains superhuman abilities after being bitten by a genetically-modified spider. Employing a secret identity, Parker uses these abilities to protect the citizens of New York City as the superhero Spider-Man. Taking place shortly after the main story of Spider-Man, The City that Never Sleeps follows Parker, who is coming to terms with the loss of his Aunt May to a bioweapon released by his former friend and mentor Otto Octavius. Parker has also romantically reunited with his ex-girlfriend Mary Jane Watson. The City that Never Sleeps introduces the first appearances of Parker's former lover, and master-thief Black Cat (Erica Lindbeck, who has a voice-only role in the main game), and Felicia's father Walter Hardy (Daniel Riordan), and features returning characters including NYPD Captain Yuri Watanabe (Tara Platt), Silver Sablinova (Nichole Elise), leader of the private military company Sable International, and the social-media using Screwball. New York's crime families have begun to resurface in the absence of the villains defeated at the end of Spider-Man including the Maggia crime family, led by mobster Hammerhead (Keith Silverstein). who is attempting to seize the city's criminal underworld for himself. Plot Some time has passed after the events of the main game. The Maggia crime families are looking to fill the void in the criminal underworld after Wilson Fisk's capture. Watson informs Parker that one of the bosses is looking to steal a painting that's being displayed in the Manhattan Museum of Contemporary Art. There, Parker encounters Felicia Hardy/Black Cat, who takes a USB drive hidden within the painting and escapes. Watson later informs Parker that the Maggia family led by Hammerhead now has the drive, implying that Hardy is working for them. Hardy continues to gather other USB drives from the other Maggia families as Parker follows her. After catching up to her, she reveals that Hammerhead is holding her son hostage. Believing himself to be the father, Parker agrees to help Hardy rescue the boy. Meanwhile, Watson learns that the drives contained the Maggia families' collective fortune, meaning that if Hammerhead manages to get them all, he can take control of their assets and leave them bankrupt. She also learns that Hammerhead has recently purchased a large impregnable vault that could be used to contain something - or someone - valuable, and sends its location to Parker. He and Hardy storm the warehouse where it is being kept, but the former is tricked into getting trapped inside; after which the latter reveals that she lied about having a son to convince Parker into helping her steal the drives before making her escape. After escaping the vault, Parker races after Hardy, having overheard Hammerhead ordering his minions to rig Hardy's penthouse to explode after she arrives. He arrives too late and sees Hardy engulfed by the explosion, but Watson later tells him that her body wasn't found among the wreckage. A full-blown gang war between the Maggia families erupts all over New York City. Parker assists Yuri Watanabe and her police task force in a raid against Hammerhead, but it turns out to be a trap; leaving all of Watanabe's men killed. Parker learns that Hammerhead and his gang have been stealing Sable International's equipment and weapons (left behind during the Devil's Breath crisis) to give themselves an edge in the turf war between the gangs. After abducting the other Maggia dons, Hammerhead spreads his forces all over the city to raid several police convoys. While Parker is busy dealing with his henchmen, Hammerhead launches an assault on the Upper East police precinct, which is holding Sable International's "Project Olympus"; slaughtering many police officers in the process. Frustrated by her men's deaths and Parker's lack of progress, Captain Watanabe decides to go after Hammerhead personally. Hammerhead decides to kill the other Maggia dons on live television in order to achieve his goal of terrorizing New York City into submission. Parker foils Hammerhead's plan and fights the mob boss himself, now powered by Project Olympus armor, and defeats him. As the police are about to take Hammerhead into custody, Captain Watanabe shows up and, in her rage, shoots Hammerhead dead. Watanabe is suspended from the police force, but it doesn't stop her from hunting down other Maggia members; later becoming a ruthless vigilante. Unbeknownst to Spidey and the police, one of Hammerhead's henchmen infiltrated the police van holding Hammerhead's body and revives him. With Sable International's advanced equipment and weaponry, Hammerhead's gang rules over New York City unopposed. Silver Sablinova, head of Sable International, returns to New York City to take revenge on Hammerhead for stealing her supplies. Parker, worried that Sablinova's violent methods would result in even more chaos, tries to convince her to work together with him. Hammerhead, who has now upgraded himself into an advanced cyborg exoskeleton, leads Parker and Sablinova into a trap and overpowers both of them. Hardy, who is revealed to be alive, saves Parker from being killed, though Sablinova is captured by Hammerhead. Hardy gives Parker a USB drive containing information on Hammerhead and hints that his head is not as strong as it looks. Parker rescues Sablinova inside Hammerhead's underground sewer base, and they both learn that the carbon steel plate inside Hammerhead's head is very sensitive to heat. Sablinova takes Parker to her stealth carrier on the Hudson River to bait Hammerhead into following them there. They work together to outfit Sablinova's VTOL fighter with a heated laser array; finishing just as Hammerhead launches his assault on them. Parker holds Hammerhead in place while Sablinova continues to blast the metal plate. Eventually, Hammerhead is severely weakened, and Sablinova crashes her jet into him, finally defeating the crime boss for good. With her business in New York City finished, Sablinova plans to return to her home country of Symkaria to deal with the civil war taking place there. Watson also calls Parker to tell him that she plans to go to Symkaria as well to cover the story on said civil war and raise awareness. In the aftermath, Parker begins to train Miles Morales on how to use his newly acquired abilities, starting with web-swinging. Development Release The first episode, "The Heist", was released on October 23, 2018. Set several months after the end of the main game, the story follows the physical return of Spider-Man's ex-girlfriend Black Cat to New York for a heist, which draws him into conflict with the Maggia crime families. "The Heist" DLC expansion includes three unlockable costumes: Spider-UK, Scarlet Spider IV (dubbed as Scarlet Spider II in-game), and the Resilient Suit, an original design by artist Gabriele Dell'Otto. Episode 2, "Turf Wars" was released on November 20. The story follows Spider-Man's and his ally Yuri Watanabe's efforts to stop Hammerhead taking over the Maggia crime families, and seizing control of crime in New York. "Turf Wars" includes three new costumes: Mangaverse Spider-Man, the original Iron Spider, and the . The final episode, "Silver Lining", was released on December 21. Its plot features Silver Sable's return to New York City to reclaim her technology that has been stolen by the Maggia. She teams up with Spider-Man to confront Hammerhead, who has used her technology to make himself virtually indestructible. "Silver Lining" adds three new costumes: Into the Spider-Verse (based on the concurrently released film), Cyborg Spider-Man, and the Spider-Man armor created by Aaron Aikman, an alternate version of Spider-Man. The "Digital Deluxe" version includes access to The City that Never Sleeps three story-based DLC chapters. The Collector's Edition includes The City that Never Sleeps DLC. Reception 70/100 ("Turf Wars") 75/100 ("Silver Linings") }} References Further reading * * * }} * * * * * * }} * }} * }} * * * * * * * }} * * * * * }} External links * * Category:2018 video games Category:Action-adventure games Category:Organized crime video games Category:Bioterrorism in fiction Category:Beat 'em ups Category:Insomniac Games Category:Motion capture in video games Category:PlayStation 4 games Category:PlayStation 4-only games Category:PlayStation 4 Pro enhanced games Category:Single-player video games Category:Sony Interactive Entertainment games Category:Video games based on Spider-Man Category:Video games developed in the United States Category:Superhero video games Category:Video games set in 2018 Category:Video games set in New York City